Snow and ice melting and disposing machine



July 11, 1961 E. F. CANZANO SNOW AND ICE MELTING AND DISPOSING MACHINE Filed April 9, 1958 IIT n JFIII INVENTQR EMILIO F CANZANO 7 Mfl Z,

ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,991,784 SNOW AND ICE M'ELTING AND DISPOSING MACHINE Emilio F. Canzano, 19 Atlanta St., Worcester, Mass. Filed Apr. 9, 1958, Ser. No. 727,446 1 Claim. (Cl. 126--343.5)

This invention relates to a new and improved machine for melting snow and ice and thus disposing of the same on the spot without the necessity of carting the snow away to the usual dump as is ordinarily done in large cities.

The principal object of the invention resides in the provision of a machine including a hopper to receive the snow and ice, and a screw-feed device for traveling the same to a screen or the like and as it melts, into the combustion chamber of a burner such as for instance an oil or gas burner or the like, in combination with means for draining the resultant fluid from the combustion chamber and providing in general for a continuously operable snow and ice melting device.

Another object of the invention includes the provision of a similar machine which is adapted to be applied to a vehicle such as a truck or the like and to be progressed along a snow-filled street, so that the snow is taken into the machine and traveled therethrough past the screen into the combustion chamber as aforesaid.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- FIG. 1 is a view in section illustrating a form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a modified structure; and

FIG. 4 is a view in elevation, looking in the direction of arrow 4 in FIG. 3.

In carrying out the present invention, there is provided a base of any desired or convenient construction. On this base, there is provided an enclosure which may be and preferably is cylindrical, this being indicated in general by the reference numeral 12. This housing is provided at one end thereof with a hopper 14 and at its opposite end with a combustion chamber which is indicated generally at 16.

A burner of any desired or convenient construction and using any desired or convenient fuel is generally indicated by the reference numeral 18 and the operating parts thereof as well as automatic controls and the like may be housed in a burner housing 20 mounted on base 10. The flame is adapted to issue from the burner 18 into the combustion chamber 16 and terminating the combustion chamber there is provided a screen 22 to which the crushed snow and ice is progressed by means of a feeding device such as a power-driven screw 24. A motor 26 may be utilized to turn the screw.

The combustion chamber is also provided with any convenient outlet pipe such as those at 28 and these may be run into hoses for disposition at a distance, or to tank wagons, or they may run directly into a gutter and thence into the sewer as is most feasible in the particular loca tion.

In the operation of the device, the snow and ice is shoveled into the hopper 14 and it is immediately taken up by the screw 24 and traveled to the combustion chamber where it is melted quickly and efliciently, the water condensing therefrom running out through the pipes 28 as will be clear to those skilled in the art.

The chamber 12 is provided with insulatoin throughout the same as at 30 and this insulation extends throughout the combustion chamber also to greatly improve the efficiency and speed of operation of melting the snow and ice in the combustion chamber, the snow and ice being preheated in advance of the screen 22, the insula inwhich there is provided a base or the like in the form by the reference of a skid and this is indicated generally numeral 32.

Upon the base or skid 32, there is mounted a housing 34 having insulation 36 which is in general similar to that shown in FIG. 1, and also the screen 38 is'similar to that at 22 as is the burner 40. Furthermore, the combustion chamber which is indicated at 42 is provided with similar pipes 44 for carrying away the melted snow.

In the FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 construction, however, this entire device is adapted to be mounted upon a truck or a lumber carrier and pushed along forwardly in the direction of arrow 46 in FIG. 3. At the forward end of the housing 34, there is provided another housing generally indicated at 48, and in this housing there are provided a series of screws best shown in FIG. 4 and indicated at 50 which take up the snow and move it laterally of the device in the direction of the arrows in FIG. 4 toward the center, i.-e., towards the cylindrical housing 34. From this point it is passed along by the screw 52 in the manner of a screw 24 above described.

If desired, separate power means 54 may be utilized to drive the screws 50 and it will be seen that in this case the operation of the device is to bring the entire device along with the truck and pass down a street taking in the snow by means of the screws 50 and 52 and melting the same then and there on the spot without the necessity of having to handle the snow and ice to put it into the hopper as at 14 in FIG. 1.

The screens 22 and 38 hold the snow and ice from the combustion chamber and prevent it from falling into this chamber until it is melted. The heat from the burner is evenly distributed to apply the most heat to the area receiving the snow. The burners are equipped with motors, pump, ignition, transformers, and air-induction fans, also overload relays and other usual protective devices.

Also, the units may have their own gasoline-powered electric generators so as to be free of any power lines and useful even if power lines are defective.

The main shafts for the spiral screw feed may be hollow in order to better conduct the heat from the combustion chamber forwardly to conserve heat and soften the snow with advance of the respective screens 22 and Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claim, but what I claim is:

In a snow and ice melting machine, the combination of a horizontally elongated base, a cylindrical housing extending longitudinally on said base and having closed front and rear ends, a transverse partition screen provided intermediate the ends of said housing and separating the interior thereof into a relatively long front chamber and a relatively short rear chamber, a tubular lining of heat insulating material provided in the front and rear chambers of said housing, a shaft bearing provided centrally on said partition screen, a shaft disposed axially in said front chamber and having its rear end rotatably journalled in said bearing, the front end portion of said shaft being rotatably journalled in and projecting forwardly through the front end of the housing, a spiral conveyor member carried by and rotatable with said shaft in said front chamber, a motor mounted on said base forwardly of said housing and operatively connected to Patented July 11, 1961 3 the front end portion of-said shaft for rotating the same and the conveyor member thereon, the upper portion of said housin'g adjacentthe front end thereof being provided with an opening communicating with the front end portion of said .front chamber, a hopper provided on said upper portion of the housing in communication with said opening whereby snow and ice deposited in said hopper may enter the front chamber and'be propelled longitudinally therein by said conveyor member to said partition-screen, and a burner'mounted on said base rearwardly of said housing and having an outlet for products of combustion discharging through the rear end of the housing into said rear chamber in a direction toward said partition screen whereby to melt the snow and ice delivered to the screen by said conveyor member with 15 41. the resultant water-passing through the screen into said rear chamber, said housing and said base being provided with a drain passage communicating with the bottom of the rear chamber for discharge of water therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 933,837 DHomergue Sept. 14, 1909 1,564,901 Scroggins Dec. 8, 1925 1,753,757 Smith c; Apr. 8, 1930 2,656,623 Becker Oct. 27, 1955 2,696,814 Townsend Dec. 14, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 78,507 Sweden Oct. 3, 1933 

